Wick, Whitehills and Peterhead

A good couple of days, clear blue sky (if a bit chilly) and we've made good progress from Wick to Whitehills (50 miles) and onto Peterhead (40 miles).

In Wick we saw the worlds shortest street, just one door, we had Sunday lunch in this restaurant, well cooked roast beef but no green veg.

Ebenezer Place, Wick - World's Shortest Street

We passed some oil (or gas) rigs on the Moray Firth but not much else. Peterhead is a large port with lots of shipping but we were granted entry on arrival and the marina had plenty of space.  Facilities are pretty good here but the town doesn't have much to offer so a quick trip to Morrisons (do Waitrose and Sainsburys not venture this far north?) to stock up as fog has descended and the forecast is not great for for the next couple of days.

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Cape Wrath, starting to head south

After our extended break in Kinlochbervie due to bad weather, we took a chance on an improvement in the strong northerly winds and set off on Thursday just after midday, to reach Cape Wrath at slack tide.

Good sail up the coast towards Cape Wrath

Cape Wrath is the most north westerly point on the UK mainland, famed for treacherous seas and a key milestone on our adventure.  The seas were pretty confused around the cape with a big swell, with little shelter on this stretch of coast it was a long slog to Scrabster Harbour (next to Thurso) and we arrived tired and battered at 11pm.  It was a dark and cold night so it was a relief when the harbour master flashed his headlights to guide us into the harbour basin and help grab our mooring lines.

We took it easy for a couple of days, taking in the delights of Thurso - the most life we had seen for some weeks with a proper high street and dining options.  We had a fantastic meal at the Captains Galley, in Scrabster Harbour - excellent food - one of our best meals of the trip.

Today we rose at 04:00 to make the trip down to Wick though the strong tides of the Pentland Firth between the mainland and the Orkney's.  Due to our lost time from bad weather we decided not to risk a trip to the Orkney's as time is marching on and we need to leave something for next time.

The pictures below show a rock stack just up the coast from Kinlochbervie, rounding Cape Wrath, us on the cliffs with Scabster Harbour behind, Bathia in Scrabster and screaming down the coast just off Wick.

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6 nights in Kinlochbervie

The high winds have eased but the rain has not.  We've spent the time reading, relaxing and going a little stir crazy - every time we venture too far from Bathia the heavens open, it pours down and we get soaked.  The seas have been too rough to comfortably round Cape Wrath so we have been waiting for a better weather window.

Rainbow over Bathia - Kinlochbervie

Today the weather started OK and we walked out to the neighbouring area (Oldshoremore) a couple of miles away, we can't call it a village as there were no shops, pubs or restaurants - just a few croft houses and B&B's.  There was a fabulous beach but the rain started before we could enjoy it, we walked back to Kinlochbervie and had lunch at the Hotel.

Beach at Oldshoremore

Yesterday, during a dry spell, I broke my duck and caught a few mackerel which we had for supper with roast veg and couscous.  Despite my efforts Katie stayed with the vegetarian option.  I must admit the bay where I was fishing was absolutely teeming with fish and even a seal, I didn't take very long to catch my quarry. 

Finally, my catch

Although very quiet, the Kinlochbervie website describes itself as 'the most northerly port on the west coast of Scotland, and virtually the last place you come to before falling into the sea. It is 60 miles from the nearest supermarket, the cinema arrives on the back of a lorry (as does the bank), and has been short-listed by the Oxford English Dictionary as a definition of the word Remote' - activity does increase when large fishing boats unload their catch, people suddenly appear and there is frantic action for a couple of hours before the ships slip away and silence is restored.

Large fishing boat unloading, ice houses in the centre

We are planning to move on tomorrow (Thursday), fingers crossed, but are expecting a reasonable swell and we'll probably get very wet.

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Still heading North, storms permitting

We finally left Ullapool after five days sheltering from wind and rain, Sunday evening and Monday were pretty unpleasant, rough sea, high winds and pouring rain.  We didn't leave Bathia until Tuesday afternoon because the five minute dinghy ride ashore was not that safe.

Sunset at Loch Inver

An improved weather window on Thursday and Friday allowed us to make some progress North, Loch Inver on Thursday and Kinlochbervie on Friday.

Bathia at Loch Inver Harbour Visitors Pontoon

Bathia at Kinlochbervie Harbour

The weather is again keeping us in port, the northerly gale force winds and frequent heavy showers prevent us from rounding Cape Wrath, the extreme North West of mainland UK.  Hopefully the seas will calm in a few days and we can move on.  There is not much in Kinlochbervie, one shop, one hotel and not much else.  One good thing though is a washing machine and dryer in the harbour so we have managed to fully tame the washing mountain.  It's also good to be on a pontoon with power, a TV signal and 3G Internet to sit out the bad weather.  Unfortunately there is no radio reception here so we're missing our favourite radio two shows.

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Plockton, Loch Torridon, Gairloch, Ullapool and Bertha

After Skye we spent a few days in Plockton (the home of Hamish Macbeth, mid 1990s BBC TV series), it was pretty stormy when we arrived but the next day (Sunday 3rd) the weather was much improved. We went ashore, had a shower at a hotel followed by an excellent Sunday roast at the Plockton Inn (half a pint of local prawn, roast lamb and a sticky toffee pudding - yum).  Monday was another grim day, we decided to take a taxi to Kyle to stock up on supplies - 20 minutes in a taxi and the weather was totally different.  We bought our provisions and found engine oil - having completed two hundred engine hours an oil and filter change was now due.

Beautiful Plockton

Filling up with water at Plockton

We planned to set off early on Tuesday to catch the tide up the coast onto Loch Torridon, however the 6am alarm was accompanied with heavy rain so we had a cup of tea and decided to wait until the afternoon tide.  This was a good decision, the weather improved as we set sail and headed north with some afternoon sun.

Stunning Loch Torridon

We had a peaceful night at anchor at Shieldaig (where I uploaded the last post) surrounded by stunning mountains.  The next morning we popped into a hotel and had a bath - luxury - followed by coffee and a splendid home made carrot cake at the local cafe.

Our first stop in Loch Gairloch was at Badachro, a sheltered bay behind a small island with mooring buoys and a popular pub.  A very pretty spot, the sea food and local beer were pretty good too. The next day we travelled a little further into the Loch to Flowerdale bay (Gairloch Harbour) to refuel at the fishing pier and we're lucky enough to then secure Bathia onto the small visitors pontoon - the first time we have been able to walk ashore and plug into electricity for two weeks.

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We stayed two nights on the pontoon and managed to avoid the occasional rain showers and took in the local scenery with a walk along the coast one day and up to a waterfall the next.  With more bad weather forecast we woke at 5:30 on Saturday to make the best of the tide for a 40 mile trip to Ullapool.  Despite the forecast there was little wind but we made good progress under engine and tide and onto a mooring buoy just in time for lunch.  The remains of hurricane Bertha was due to hit on Sunday, we awoke to a calm, bright sunny day and went for a walk, had a pub lunch and stopped into the Tesco (we haven't seen one of those for two months).

Ullapool, the calm before the storm (Bathia rear centre)

Since then we have been confined to the boat while we wait for the storm to pass.

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Outer Hebrides and Skye

For the last couple of weeks Internet access has been very difficult to find, this evening we are anchored in Loch Torridon and have managed to pick up a weak BT wifi signal from the village of Shieldaig.

Cuillin Mountains, Isle of Skye

Since the last post we spent a few days in the Outer Hebridies (Uist and Harris) and managed to catch-up with my friend Donald who was home visiting his family in Harris. I had a bit of a nightmare when we first arrived in the Loch, I rowed ashore in the dinghy to meet Donald whilst Katie stayed on Bathia to check the anchor was set. When I came to row back 20 minutes later the tide and wind had increased and the distance to row was further than initially thought. At this point the dinghy oars decided to show their weakness and not stay in the rollocks; I was being blown out to sea faster than I could row. I managed to make it to the opposite shore before I was too far away and began to trudge around the rocky shore to make my way back up tide and wind from Bathia. Luckily Katie managed to get help from another yacht who came and collected me in their dinghy (plus outboard). Lesson learnt, use the outboard and get the oars fixed!

Katie, Donald and Rob, Taransay Island behind

The next day Donald took us for a tour of South Harris to see the incredible beaches and get a feel for his home town.  The  weather was looking suspect so later that day we left Harris and headed back towards the mainland and the Isle of Skye.

We had a few wet days on Skye dodging heavy downpours and making rapid dinghy rides from our mooring buoy to the harbour and back.  On Friday we took an organised tour to see the sights of this stunning island.

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